Boiler-tube cleaner.



No. 759,468. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904. J. P. PRENTIGE.

BOILER TUBE CLEANER.

. APPLIOATION TILED NOV.14. 1902. N0 MODEL.

' parts suitably secured together.

coupling in a manner well known.

UNITED STATES Patented May 10, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN P. PRENTIOE, OF BARBERTON, OI-IIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE STIRLING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BOILER-TUBE CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,468, dated May 10, 1904 I Application filed November 14, 1902. Serial No. 131,339. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN P. Pnnwrroaa resident of Barberton, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boiler-Tube Cleaners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to tools for cleaning tubes, such as water-tubes of steam-boilers, and more especially to tools which are adapted to be driven by a motor of the turbine type.

The object of my invention is to improve tools of this character in details of construction, as will hereinafter fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the tool. Fig. 2 is a front end view thereof. Fig. 3 is a rear view thereof, and Fig. 4 is a side view of a modification.

The tool is provided with a frame or body 1, which may be of various shapes and designs, but which preferably is formed as a plate or disk 2, having on its forward face the central projection 3 and being provided on its rear face with ears or lugs 4, whereby the tool may be connected by any universal coupling to any form of turbine or other motor. For this purpose the ears or lugs4 are drilled through to receive a bolt 5, passing through the end of a link 6, which forms a universal The disk 2, projection 3, and lugs 4: may be formed integral, as shown, of a forging or casting, or, if preferred, they may be formed in separate For strength and simplicity, however, the integral formation is preferred.

duced at its outer end to form a stud 8 and shoulder 9. The toothed cutter rests upon the shoulder 9 and is secured in place by means of a nut 10 on the outerend, of the stud 8.

To the rear of the cutter 7 I place one or more toothed cutters 11, two such cutters being shown, although the number may be vari ed as desired, and these cutters also are preferably formed beveled or conical, with straight portions 12 at their bases to form an extended cutting-face, as shown, and are rotatably mounted on axes substantially parallel to the axis of the frame 1. Various ways of mounting the same may be employed, and I have shown forthis purpose the posts or studs 13, secured to the disk 2 in any convenient mannor-as, for instance, by screwing into holes formed therein. These posts or studs 13 are reduced to form shoulders 14 and are provided at their outer ends with suitable means, such as the nuts 15, for holding the cutters 11 in 5 place. The distance between the nuts and the shoulders 14, however, is such that the cutters 11 are free to rotate. The cutters 7 and 11 will be made of'steel, iron, or chilled castiron, as preferred. The cutters 7 and 11 are 7 serrated parallel to the axis of said cutters, and the for ward ends of the cutters 1 1 lie inside of the circumference of the rear end of the cutter 7 so that no shoulder is left, and the cutters 11 will easily enter into the opening formed by the cutter 7, in this manner providing for the free forward movement of the tool. The cutters 11, furthermore, are radially immovable, and as said cutters project out farther than the hole which is formed by the cutter 7 they will be forced against the shell of incrustation left by the latter and positively break the same.

The disk 2 is cut away at two opposite points, as at 16, to permit the water from the tur- 5 bine to escape past said disk. Any number of such cut-away portions may be used as desired or necessary, but preferably there will be as many as there are cutting-tools 11, and said cut-away portions will preferably alternate with said cutters.

For cleaning tubes having curves so sharp that the tool is liable to bend it is desirable to make the same flexible, and this is best accomplished by forming a universal jointin the projection 3. This joint may be of various constructions, but preferably such as shown in Fig. 4, wherein the base 3 and top portions 3" of the projection 3 are united by a link 17, secured to the base and top portions by hinge connections or pivots which are'at right angles to each other. This joint will permit the front cutter 7 to assume an angle to the base of the tgol, so that the latter will readily pass sharp curves in the tubes.

In the use of the device the frame 1 is connected by means of any suitable universal coupling to the motor part of a turbine-cleaner or to any other desired motor,whereby a rapid rotary motion is given to the frame. The cutter 7 being fixedly attached to said frame will act like a drill or milling-cutter to cut out the incrustation in the tube; but this cutter must for practical reasons be made somewhat smaller than the internal diameter-of the tube,

:so that it willleave a thin layer of incrustation on the inner surface of the tube. The cutters 11, however, being free to rotate will roll around on the layer of incrustation left by the cutter 7, and as this layer has been reduced until it is quite thin the rolling action of the cutters 11 will cause the teeth of said cutter to suckin and break said. incrustation from the tube, thereby permitting it to be washed or blown away. The difficulty heretofore experienced with these tools is that if only a fixed cutter, such as the cutter 7, is used the incrustation cannot be entirely removed, as said cutter cannot for practical reasons be made as large asthe inner diameter of the tube. On

the c0ntrary, if only rotary cutters, such as the cutters 11, are used the tool cannot be fed forward if the incrustation is very thick, and even if the tool can be'fed forward such cutters cannot readily break the thick inerustation. With my improved tool, however, the

. fixed cutter 7 reduces the thickness of the layer of incrustatiomso that the rotary cutters 11 can easily break the remaining incrustation out of the tube.

The tool as a whole is very short, so that it can be used in tubes and flues having quite sharp curves, and the construction, furthermore, is such that the tool can be easily fed through-the tube. The arrangement of cutters is such that there is practically a conical surface from the point of the tool to the rear end of the cutters and no shoulder or non-cutting surface can ever come in contact with the incrustation in the tube.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A tube-cleaning tool comprisingaframe adapted to be rotated, a toothed cutter fixed centrally to the forward end thereof, and one or more toothed cutters rotatably mounted in said frame to the rear of said fixed cutter, said rear cutters having conical forward ends lying within the circumference of the fixed cutters, and having a substantially cylindrical portion to the rear of their forward ends projecting beyond the periphery of said fixed cutter.

. 2. A tube-cleaning tool comprising a frame 5 adapted to be rotated,-a conical toothed cutter having the cutting-teeth at its greatest diameter substantially parallel to its axis, and being fixed centrally to the forward end of said frame, and one or more rotary implements to the rear of said fixed cutter with their forward ends within the circumference of the fixed cutter and a portion to the rear of their forward ends projecting beyond the periphery of Said fixed cutter.

3. A tube-cleaning tool comprising a frame adapted to be rotated, said frame comprising adisk having its circumference cut away at several places and a central forwardly-projecting portion, a toothed cutter fixed to the go forward end of said projection, and one or more rotary cutters mounted in said frame to the rear of the fixed cutter with their forward ends within the circumference of the fixed cutter and a portion to the rearof the front 5 their front ends projecting beyond the periphery of said cutter.

5. A tube-cleaning tool comprising a frame adapted to be rotated, said frame having acentral forwardly-projecting portion, a universal joint in said projection, a toothed cutter fixec to said projection so as to rotate with the frame, and one or more rotary fluted tools to the rear of said toothed cutter with their forward ends within the circumference of the toothed cutter and a portion to the rear of their front ends projecting beyond the periphery of said cutter.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN P. PRENTICE, have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN P. PRENTICE.

WVitnesses:

F. WINTER, W. T. LUcAs. 

